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RESILIENCE IN THE STORM

By on September 6, 2017
hurricane

By Dr. Lawanda Beasley-Jones, Ed.D

The storm … The rain came down and the wind began roaring like a lion in the eye of Hurricane Harvey. One of the most devastating hurricanes I’ve ever seen. I survived other hurricanes but this one was the most powerful to me. As I paced the floor back and forth wondering what should I do as a mother…

Should I panic? Should I breakdown in fearful tears? I had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. As the water began to rise my heart began to beat faster and faster.

Watching the local news, receiving the flood and tornado alerts on my phone, my heart began to beat with a new sense of urgency. Being looked up to by my child wondering what mom would do I just stood there in stillness.  I knew I couldn’t just do nothing. I knew my panic wouldn’t stop the water from rising. So immediately I remembered all the many battles I’ve fought through the journey of life as a woman and pressed my way to a mindset of resilience. I began to be empowered within by a power I’ve had since birth. The power of “resilience.”  Immediately grabbing what I could and my child in midst of it all, I leaned on a power much bigger than the storm.  I was kept in peace through it all.

Facing a very stressful moment as traumatic as it was I stood firm on my resilience against all odds.  Preparing for the” storm after the storm” is all I could think about. Rebuilding what the Hurricane so drastically would destroy in a blink of an eye. Things I’ve worked so hard for throughout my entire life would be destroyed by the storm.  I was up held through my own inner power. Looking forward beyond the total loss and standing strong in the midst of the storm, the raging winds and rain. I never knew the strength within me as a woman until all I had was my strength to lean on. My mind began to be conscious of my resilience. I became conscious of my own strength to survive against everything even if I had to lose it all to gain it all in the end. This empowered me to be strong. The magnitude of the storm was so powerful even the local meteorologist and news anchors were in amazement. No matter what local channel I switched too, they all had the voice of panic and fear of what Hurricane Harvey would bring to the affected areas in Texas. And so it did.

Destroying homes and lives throughout its path, the impact was detrimental. But even in the midst of it all I had to remain focus. I had to remain driven in resilience. I had to listen to the inner voice of resilience inside of me. Ensuring that every action from every moment forward grew me in personal strength. For many years, I have had to face many challenges and adversities both internally and externally but this storm tested every strength inside of me as a woman.

I had to tap into what would keep me from breaking and losing focus, it was resilience. I asked myself on multiple occasions, what will I gain from this storm and life lesson?  I gained the secret power of “resilience.”  The courage to not give up. The courage to keep going even in the face of adversity. As the storm raged outside I had another storm raging inside of my mind. Battling mentally all the things that happen from this storm. This brought back the past adversities in my personal life that nearly almost took me out. I began to ponder on how I made it through all of the different journey’s I’ve had in life. I made it then and I will make it now.  Things are going to get better. I started to motivate and encourage myself even in the midst of the storm.  Even if the material things are gone, they can all be replaced. But what I could not replace is my life. My eyes began to open to see that a brighter day is in my future. That the rainbow will shine again. I put a smile on my face and pressed my way through every stumbling block, every claim denial, every irreplaceable item and stood in joy.

Defeat was not going to be my answer.  I knew so many others lost so much even their love ones through this devastating storm. As I put my needs to the side, I volunteered at the local shelter to help others that lost everything. I wanted to show them my resilience without even speaking a word. Being an example of how they could make it even through the storm. I walked around the shelter encouraging and uplifting both women and men of all races and cultures. My goal was to allow the resilience in me to become a domino effect for them.  One thing I have learned about resilience in the eye of the storm is when you help others you empower yourself.  I had to remember I was more than a conqueror and believe in the power that lived inside of me. So many women were encouraged and many even found temporary shelter and left empower to rebuild their lives for the good.

Resilience…we can’t buy it from the local market. It is a power that lives deep down within every woman to survive against the storms of life.

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Bio - Dr. Lawanda Beasley-JonesDr. Lawanda Beasley-Jones, Ed.D is an American pastor, author, philanthropist and nonprofit owner who has dedicated her life to helping women tap into their inner resilience of strength. She is the CEO of Victory Careers and Education specializing in rebuilding the community through reading & literacy programs, employment and biblical counseling.  She is also an active member of Volunteer Houston, where nonprofits throughout the region work together to rebuild disaster areas. She resides in Houston, Texas. Her nonfiction books and magazine articles have appeared throughout the bookshelves of Barnes and Nobles, Books-a-Million, Family Christian and online.

Dr. Jones encourages and motivates women to conquer the adversities of life through their inner strength. She has helped countless women through life’s struggles and adversity become free from defeat, who are her target audience.

Dr. Jones is passionate about helping her readers and listeners understand the power of inner resilience within every woman. Encouraging women to conquer the mental battle of a status-quo mindset. She has endured many adversity moments within her own personal life and desires to help other women to become an over comer. Through her personal testimonies, she lives as a true example of a woman of faith and woman of resilience.

Dr. Jones education includes, Capella Univeristy, Doctorate of Education, University of Phoenix, Masters of Management and College of Biblical Studies, Biblical Studies and Leadership.

Throughout her professional career, Dr. Jones has been recognized locally as a key leader and philanthropist for helping to rebuild community sustainability in the area of education.

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